How it works

Control APIs from any location. Deliver on any channel. Hybrid API management architecture gives you the flexibility you need to get the job done.

API Program Management

A distributed cloud layer which centralizes control of your API program, including analytics, access control, monetization, developer workflows, and more.

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API Traffic Control

Integrate with 3scale using self-managed or cloud components that provide traffic control, security, and access policy enforcement for developers.

Together, these two layers allow you to position API traffic control wherever you need it and manage all aspects of your API program from a single interface.

Why is this approach better?

Unmatched scalability

Most vendors require you to pass the entire API call through the API management layer, reducing speed and hindering performance. 3scale’s traffic control layer inspects only the header of an incoming API call, leaving the much heavier API payload untouched. Authenticated calls are completed with a minimum of interference, ensuring scalability and speed even at high volume.

Future-proof solutions

Smart, streamlined program implementation grows and scales when you need to, remaining cost-effective even at high volumes. The 3scale platform is built on powerful infrastructure that adapts with you, letting you deliver high-performance APIs with the fastest time-to-value in the industry. Whatever your use case or business model, 3scale will help you get up and running faster, with immediate results and no hidden costs or unwanted surprises.

Deploy anywhere

The 3scale platform is delivered using a SaaS model, with a cloud-based dashboard built on Amazon and Rackspace infrastructure. Integration with the infrastructure is accomplished via the deployment of an agent (a control point) that enforces traffic policies. The four common deployment patterns are:

Gateway (proxy) deployment

In this mode, control elements are deployed using an open source proxy, which sits in front of the API and acts as a traffic filter for API calls. The recommended proxy is Nginx, which is a high-performance solution that does not require any changes to your API code.

Other deployment options include:

Red Hat OpenShift

Heroku add-on

Amazon API Gateway

APIcast

Amazon Machine Image

NGINX self-managed

Software plugin deployment

3scale provides code plugins in multiple languages, which can be deployed in any application to add API control. The installation pattern for each library varies depending on the programming language in use (each bundle includes instructions). Each plugin implements authentication, rate limiting, and traffic reporting.

API deployment

Gateway deployment and plugin integration methods are both built as a “wrapper” on top of 3scale’s service management API to simplify deployment. However, for custom or bespoke deployments it is also possible to integrate with the 3scale API directly. The API can also be called directly from anywhere for greater flexibility.

Flexible Architecture

The unique separation of the cloud management layer and API delivery mechanism make the setup as flexible as possible. Gatewayscarrying the traffic can be anywhere—and traffic does not need to flow through 3scale—so you can optimize your API traffic flow and stay in complete control.

Open Source

3scale’s API gateways are built on the Nginx and Varnish open source Web proxies – you can choose either and have as many gateways as you need. Each acts as a traffic proxy with 3scale components inside to globally enforce the policies you configure in your API management dashboard.

Asynchronous Communication

Part of 3scale’s key to extreme scaling is that API traffic can flow directly to origin data centers and not through the management layer itself. In order for this to work, communication between any of the API delivery components to the management servers is asynchronous. This allows local nodes to cache credentials and usage information without making a round trip to 3scale each time calls come in, resulting in a highly robust and scalable deployment.